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Reflections:

Sacraments Section:

The Holy Eucharist & The Goodness and Love of God

Wisdom of the Popes, Saints, Theologians, Other...

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"Every
Communion is a new gift which Jesus Christ makes of Himself."
(St. Ignatius Loyola)

"Your love for me is so deep that You could offer
me nothing less than yourself."

"Oh!
Unheard of goodness of a God incorporating himself with his
creature!" (From 'Act of Thanksgiving')

"[T]he
Redeemer of the world...by means of the Eucharist [pours] out the
wealth of his Divine love on humans." (Pope Pius XII)

"God
in His omnipotence could not give more, in His wisdom He knew not
how to give more, in His riches He had not more to give, than the
Eucharist." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church)

"Neither
gifts nor portraits take the place of the beloved one. And our
Lord knew it well. We needed Him, and so He gave us Himself."
(Archbishop Fulton Sheen)

"What
more could Jesus have done for us? Truly, in the Eucharist, he
shows us a love which goes 'to the end' (cf. Jn 13:1), a love
which knows no measure." (Pope John Paul II)

"A
saint has told us that one day at Mass he saw Jesus Christ with
his hands full of gifts, looking for souls to whom he might give
them." (St. John Vianney)

"The
Mass is a compendium of all God's love, of all His benefits to
men, and each Mass bestows on the world a benefit not less than
what was conferred on it by the Incarnation." (St.
Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church)

"If
the love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament does not win our
hearts, Jesus is vanquished! Our ingratitude is greater than His
Goodness; our malice is more powerful than His Charity!" (St.
Peter Julian Eymard)

"No
tongue can express the greatness of the love which Jesus Christ
bears to our souls. He did not wish that between Him and His
servants there should be any other pledge than Himself, to keep
alive the remembrance of Him." (St. Peter of Alcantara)

"Jesus
Christ found a way by which he could ascend into Heaven and yet
remain on the earth. He instituted the adorable Sacrament of the
Eucharist so that he might stay with us, and be the Food of our
soul; that he might console us and be our companion." (St.
John Vianney)

"To
show the love He has for us, He has made it possible for those who
desire it not merely to look upon Him, but even to touch Him and
to consume Him and to fix their teeth in His flesh and to be
commingled with Him - in short, to fulfill all their love."
(St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)

"In
all He did from the Incarnation to the Cross, the end Jesus Christ
had in mind was the gift of the Eucharist, His personal and
corporal union with each Christian [that is, Catholic] through Communion. He saw in It
the means of communicating to us all the treasures of His Passion,
all the virtues of His Sacred Humanity, and all the merits of His
Life." (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

"Eternal
Wisdom, on the one hand, wished to prove his love for man by dying
in his place in order to save him, but on the other hand, he could
not bear the thought of leaving him. So he devised a marvelous way
of dying and living at the same time, and of abiding with man
until the end of time. So, in order to fully satisfy his love, he
instituted the sacrament of Holy Eucharist and went to the extent
of changing and overturning nature itself." (St. Louis Marie de
Montfort)

"This
then is what Christ intended when he instituted this Venerable
Sacrament, namely, by awakening charity towards God to promote
mutual charity among men. For the latter, as is plain, is by its
very nature rooted in the former, and springs from it by a kind of
spontaneous growth. Nor is it possible that there should be any
lack of charity among men, or rather it must needs be enkindled
and flourish, if men would but ponder well the charity which
Christ has shown in this Sacrament." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae
Caritatis", 1902 A.D.)

"[T]he Eucharist is the highest expression of divine love
because, desiring to communicate himself to his creature in every
possible way, the Infinite Love that had already communicated
itself in creation, in the Incarnation and through grace, now
communicates itself in a new way, as man feeds on the body of
Christ and in a mysterious manner takes on divinity. The Eucharist
adds too to man's love, because man is enabled to respond to God's
infinite love with a love that runs through an infinity of space,
to pour itself out and be dissolved in the Beloved." (Amerio)

"[When
you see the Body of Christ] exposed, say to yourself: Thanks to
this body, I am no longer dust and ashes, I am no more a captive
but a freeman; hence I hope to attain heaven and the good things
that are there in store for me, eternal life, the heritage of the
angels, companionship with Christ; death has not destroyed this
body which was pierced by nails and scourged...this is that body
which was once covered with blood, pieced by a lance, from which
issued saving fountains upon the world, one of blood and the other
of water... This body He gave to us to keep and eat, as a mark of
His intense love." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church)

"Oh,
how sweet and kind to the ear of the sinner is the word by which
you, my Lord God, invite the poor and needy to receive your most
holy Body! Who am I, Lord, that I should presume to approach you?
Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain you, and yet you say:
'Come, all of you, to Me.' What means this most gracious honor and
this friendly invitation? How shall I dare to come, I who am
conscious of no good on which to presume? How shall I lead you
into my house, I who have so often offended in your most kindly
sight? Angels and archangels revere you, the holy and the just
fear you, and you say: 'Come to Me, all of you!' If you, Lord, had
not said it, who would have believed it to be true? And if you had
not commanded, who would dare approach?" (Kempis)

"Wherefore,
our Savior, when about to depart out of this world to the Father,
instituted this Sacrament, in which He poured forth as it were the
riches of His divine love towards man, making a remembrance of his
wonderful works; and He commanded us, in the participation
thereof, to venerate His memory, and to show forth his death until
He comes to judge the world. But He wished also that this sacrament
should be received as the spiritual food of souls, whereby they may be
fed and strengthened, living the life of Him who said, He
that eateth me, the same also shall live by me; and as an
antidote, whereby we may be freed from daily faults, and be
preserved from mortal sins. He would, furthermore, have it be a
pledge of our glory to come, and everlasting happiness, and thus
be a symbol of that one body whereof He is the head, and to which
He would fain have us as members be united by the closest bond of
faith, hope, and charity, that we might all speak the same things,
and there might be no schisms amongst us." (Council of Trent,
1551 A.D.)

"Accordingly,
Venerable Brethren, it has seemed good to Us to address you on
certain points connected with this same mystery [of the
Eucharist], for the defense and honor of which the solicitude of
the Church has been so constantly engaged, for which Martyrs have
given their lives, which has afforded to men of the highest genius
a theme to be illustrated by their learning, their eloquence,
their skill in all the arts; and this We will do in order to
render more clearly evident and more widely known those special
characteristics by virtue of which it is so singularly adapted to
the needs of these our times. It was towards the close of His
mortal life that Christ our Lord left this memorial of His
measureless love for men, this powerful means of support 'for the
life of the world' (St. John vi., 52). And precisely for this
reason, We, being so soon to depart from this life, can wish for
nothing better than that it may be granted to us to stir up and
foster in the hearts of all men the dispositions of mindful
gratitude and due devotion towards this wondrous Sacrament,
wherein most especially lie, as We hold, the hope and the
efficient cause of salvation and of that peace which all men so
anxiously seek." (Pope Leo XIII, "Mirae Caritatis",
1902 A.D.)

"Nothing
contributes more to the spiritual joy and advantage of pious
persons than the contemplation of the exalted dignity of this most
august Sacrament [of the Holy Eucharist]. In the first place they
learn how great is the perfection of the Gospel Dispensation,
under which we enjoy the reality of that which under the Mosaic
Law was only shadowed forth by types and figures. Hence St. Denis
divinely says that our Church is midway between the Synagogue and
the heavenly Jerusalem, and consequently participates of the
nature of both. Certainly, then, the faithful can never
sufficiently admire the perfection of the holy Church and her
exalted glory which seems to be removed only by one degree from
the bliss of heaven. In common with the inhabitants of heaven, we
too possess Christ, God and man, present with us. They are raised a
degree of us, inasmuch as they are present with Christ and enjoy
the Beatific Vision; while we, with a firm and unwavering faith,
adore the Divine Majesty present with us, not it is true, in a
manner visible to mortal eye, but hidden in a miracle of power
under the veil of the sacred mysteries. Furthermore the faithful
experience in this Sacrament the most perfect love of Christ our
Savior. It became the goodness of the Savior not to withdraw from
us that nature which He assumed from us, but to desire, as far as
possible, to remain among us so that at all times He might be seen
to verify the words: My delight is to be with the children of men.
(Prov. viii. 31)." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)

"Christ's
love towards men was so great that not only was He willing to
endure most cruel sufferings for our salvation and an atrocious
death on the cross, but also He wished to nourish us eternally in
the sacrament of His Body and Blood. In this way, He might
strengthen us by the presence of His divinity and be the safest
bulwark of our spiritual life. And not content to have loved us
with such an outstanding and truly divine love, He heaped benefits
on benefits, poured out the riches of His love upon us, and, as
you know so well, having loved His own He loved them to the end.
For, declaring Himself to be an eternal Priest according to the
order of Melchisedech, He instituted permanently His priesthood in
the Catholic Church. He decreed that that same Sacrifice which He
performed is to redeem the whole human race from the yoke of sin
to reconcile all things in heaven and earth, and to remain until
the consummation of the world. He decreed that it be renewed and
take plaice daily by the ministry of the priesthood. Only the
reason for the offering is diverse, namely, that the salvific and
most abundant fruits of His passion might forever be dispersed
upon mankind. In the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass, celebrated by
priests, the same life-giving victim [Christ] is offered up. This entreaty
reconciles us to God the Father. It 'renews in a mysterious
way the death of Christ, who having risen from the dead dies no
longer. Death no longer has domination over Him. Still, He is
sacrificed for us in the mystery of this sacred oblation.'"
(Pope Pius IX, "Amantissimi Redemptoris", 1858 A.D.)

"The
mind is greatly moved by realizing Christ's presence on the altar,
but when it further reflects that He comes to us because His
affection for us is like that of the betrothed for his bride,
which will not allow him to pass a single day without seeing and
conversing with her, the Christian wishes he had a thousand hearts
wherewith to make a fitting return for such love. He longs to cry
out with St. Augustine: 'Domine, quid tibi sum, quia jubes me
diligere te? Quid tibi sum? Lord, what am I to Thee, what Thou
shouldst bid me love Thee? What am I to Thee?' Why dost Thou so
fervently desire to see and to embrace me? Thou, who dost dwell in
heaven in company with those who understand so well how Thou
shouldst be served and loved, dost come to me, who only know how
to offend Thee or to render Thee slack service. Canst not Thou,
then, O my Lord, be happy without me, that my love should draw
Thee down to me? O blessed mayst Thou be, who being what Thou art,
hast yet set Thy heart upon such a creature as me! Can it be that
Thou, King as Thou art, dost come here and dost place Thyself in
my [priestly] hand, and seem to say: 'I
died once for thy sake and I come to
thee now to show thee that I do not repent of it, but on the
contrary that, if there were need, I would give my life for thee a
second time?' Who could remain unmoved by such love? Who could
hide himself, O Lord, from Thy burning Heart, which warms our own
by its very presence, and is like a mighty furnace, throwing out
sparks of fire on all around it? Such a Lord as this...visits us
from heaven, and we, wretches as we are, [converse] with Him and
receive Him within our breasts!" (St. John of Avila,
c. 1560 A.D.)

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